Most forms of assistance for housing, medical bills, or other personal expenses such as debt relief will come from charitable organizations or government assistance programs, rather than grants from foundations.

This article provides selected grant resources to help you. But to get an overview of funding information and resources available to artists of all types, start by reading our Knowledge Base article: "Where can I find grants for individual artists?"

Most forms of assistance for housing, medical bills, or other personal expenses such as debt relief will come from charitable organizations or government assistance programs, rather than grants from foundations.

Most forms of assistance for housing, medical bills, or other personal expenses such as debt relief will come from charitable organizations or government assistance programs, rather than grants from foundations.

According to ACCION International, a leading nonprofit microcredit provider, microfinance is defined as "banking and/or financial services targeted to low-and-moderate income businesses or households, including the provision of credit".

Crowdfunding is a way to raise funds for a specific cause or project by asking a large number of people to donate money, usually in small amounts, and usually during a relatively short period of time, such as a few months.

Remember one important rule of thumb: "If you don't qualify, don't apply." Foundations that give to individuals have highly specific criteria. This article gives a typical breakdown for an individual project proposal.

We do not give grants, recommend specific funders, or approach them on your behalf, but we can point you to information that should help. Often, the most effective method to raise funds quickly is to ask for help from the community.

Most forms of assistance to individuals for housing, medical bills, or other personal expenses like debt relief will come from charitable organizations or government assistance programs, rather than grants from foundations.

Personal or independent projects -- for example, traveling overseas for a mission, attending summer camp, raising money for a specific person in need -- typically are not eligible to receive foundation grants. However, if your project is artistic or research-related, or its primary purpose is to serve a larger audience and improve the community, you could consider fiscal sponsorship as a means to qualify for foundation grants.

Juliana Steele, program specialist for fiscal sponsorship with Fractured Atlas, explains how artists can determine whether their project would be a good candidate to be fiscally sponsored, and how artists can seek out sponsors.